by Guest | adventures, featured guests
Luna
Hello Spring?? We live on a teeny beach island and this Indian Winter has me bundled up in the house. Even Luna #woof is restless. We miss long, romantic walks on the beach together, sprints through the surf, freckles melting, and sun sparkling off the sand.
As a pick me up, it time to dream about summer vacation trips. Are you with me??!!
Last year we spent almost a year traveling cross country. We were so lucky to land some housesitting gigs in Brooklyn, Charleston, Portland, Seattle, Austin, Bend and more. Most involved taking care of the family pets while the owners jetted off to travel themselves. It was SO MUCH FUN! We have taken care of amazing dogs, cats, chickens, miniature ponies, goats, horses, and one stinkin’ cute bunny named Elvis.
Seattle Goats
Chewy of Portland
There are many international housesitting websites, but here are the ones we signed up for:
HouseCarers —> @housecarers
Mind My House —> @MindMyHouse1
Luxury Housesitting
Trusted Housesitters —> @Housesitting
To get your imagination running wild, take a quick look at their Twitter updates. Know that each annual membership costs less than 50 $USD. It’s an instant payoff for you and your family because instead of paying big bucks for accommodation, most housesitting gigs provide FREE accommodation. Each housesitting adventure changed our lives! All the families we met were so fantastic, it felt like we’d been friends forever. For more inspiration, check out this cute Canadian couple, Dalene & Peter, who sold everything to travel the world! Their blog is Hecktic Travels.
So when I am all bundled up underneath all the blankets in the house, I relish perusing the daily housesitting posts. I dream about New Zealand, Fiji, France … and our honeymoon destination: Iceland!!
6 months in Fiji
Brooklyn for Spring Break 2013
Variable Dates in Hawaii
Asheville or France?!
Where would YOU like to go this summer? Send me your dream vacation location in the comments box below, and I will respond with housesitting gigs to consider. Teamwork!!
XOXO – Stella
meet stella!
by Guest | featured guests, recipes
Hi, It’s Stella – Remember Me?
This time last year, we were living an adventurous 3-month stint in Austin leading up to SXSW. We lived in a cozy “tree house” above an architect’s tinkershop. Each morning at 4 AM their bumptious rooster would start crowing. He was completely convinced that he made the sun come up! So he’d crow until the sun peeked over the horizon. #friendsnotfood
ROOSTER with subtitle #friendsnotfood
After living on the road for nine months, I am so happy to share with you my enthusiasm for a #homecooked meal. Burton and I have dined in almost every state in the country, but nothing is more romantic than sparks in the kitchen.
This week Burton is on a juice cleanse. My #homecooked meals have taken a brief hiatus. Instead I have taken to serious solo snacking. The laughable proof is evident on Instagram.
Austin boasts amazing food trucks and we certainly indulged our fancy! One of my favorites was the Love Balls Bus on the East Side. Taking my snacking in stride, I have channeled those food truck cravings and turned to Pinterest for healthy snacks.
Here are some flavor-packed snacks that are perfect to crush any junk food cravings at work, home, or on the run:
Buffalo Goat Cheese Balls
I crave buffalo-style anything, anytime. We had goat cheese left over from a party, so it was time to make my very own Austin-inspired balls. I found Tieghan’s recipe on her Half Baked Harvest blog. She’s a hoot!!
RECIPE TIPS
– Added blue cheese crumbles to the mixture
– Served with celery & blue cheese dressing for extra crunch
Quinoa Pizza Bites
Quinoa is a key weekly ingredient to our pescetarian diet. High in protein, Morgan’s quinoa recipe on her Fit For Success blog helps zap the pizza craving without the extra carbs. Noted!
RECIPE TIPS
– Used a full cup of mozzarella
– Used tangy pizza marinara sauce
– Pushed the quinoa mixture down to the bottom to make them firmer & thinner
– Used panko to give them a crunchy coating
Apple Nutella Treats
Born in Germany, I grew up on Nutella. Don’t hate! Kelly’s super easy recipe is perfect for my sweet tooth. Her blog is aptly named Eat Yourself Skinny. Ha!!
RECIPE TIPS
– Throw in some extra Nutella toppings, like flax seed
– I ate and made them one at a time 🙂
– They were so good, I didn’t even get a photo!
Yes, I will admit that I did sneak off with Luna to run errands and ate an entire pizza in the car. Hey, Luna helped with the crust. True moments of weakness!
Got a favorite snack we should all try??
– Stella
